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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22964182">To Our Future</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dain/pseuds/Dain'>Dain</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>AroWriMo 2020 [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars Original Trilogy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aromantic Character, Aromantic Luke Skywalker, Complicated Emotions, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Plans For The Future, Sibling Bonding, Weddings, technically Han/Leia but Han doesn't even show up so, this is a mostly happy fic but there is some grief/anxiety going on as well</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 13:15:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>999</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22964182</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dain/pseuds/Dain</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Luke couldn't keep the smile off his face.</p>
<p>It was such a simple expression; the flexing of a few muscles, and not nearly enough to give full voice to his soaring, unrestrained joy, the lightness and fullness of spirit that made him ache until he thought he might burst with the strength of it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Leia Organa &amp; Luke Skywalker</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>AroWriMo 2020 [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1630078</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>AroWriMo 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>To Our Future</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The noise from the building behind him had faded into a pleasant white noise rather than a distracting barrage of voices. The evening air out on the balcony was cool and refreshing after the uncomfortable warmth of the reception, too many bodies stuffed into too small of a space. A lake stretched out before him, huge and dark and mirrorlike, the lights from the party dancing and flickering in otherworldly patterns along its surface.<br/>
<br/>
Luke couldn't keep the smile off his face.<br/>
<br/>
It was such a simple expression; the flexing of a few muscles, and not nearly enough to give full voice to his soaring, unrestrained joy, the lightness and fullness of spirit that made him ache until he thought he might burst with the strength of it. He wanted to scream, to laugh, to cry, but none of that seemed appropriate; so he leaned against the railing and gazed out at the dark lake and smiled.<br/>
<br/>
And of course he wasn't the only one. Even from outside he could feel Leia, her own delightful, messy tangle of emotions shining like a sun as she wove her way through the wedding guests.<br/>
<br/>
Speaking of which...<br/>
<br/>
He turned. The noise from the reception sharpened for a moment as Leia stepped out onto the balcony and then faded once more when the door shut behind her. Her pale gold dress whispered against the floor as she approached him, the tiny jewels in her hair glinting, her smile unfettered and unrestrained. Just seeing her there was enough to nearly overwhelm him with affection, and he felt something in him settle as she approached.<br/>
<br/>
"Hi," he said in greeting. "Everything going well?"<br/>
<br/>
"It's going so well my brother's hiding outside," she said as she came to a stop nearby, her hands on her hips. Her smile didn't falter. "So maybe I should be asking you."<br/>
<br/>
"I'm not hiding," he said. "I just needed a break from..." He gestured wordlessly back at the building.<br/>
<br/>
Leia softened. "You don't have to stay," she said. "We won't be offended - we understand if it's all a little much."<br/>
<br/>
"I'm not ready to leave yet," he said. "I am enjoying myself, believe it or not."<br/>
<br/>
"I can feel that you are," she admitted. "But I was worried you were going to push yourself for our sakes. Of all the intensely romantic situations you could find yourself in..."<br/>
<br/>
"You know that isn't so bad anymore," Luke said. "Besides, I'm so full of my own feelings right now there isn't any room for yours." He and Leia had found themselves becoming more and more attuned to each other's emotional states as they developed their respective connections to the Force, and the adjustment period had been difficult. Luke had spent an unfortunate few weeks unable to be in the same room as her and Han, Leia's love for her now-husband getting tangled up in his own feelings and sending him back into tumultuous self-doubt that he'd thought he'd left far behind. He'd hated every minute of it, but as time went on and he learned to separate out his own feelings from his sister's, he had regained his confidence and, he thought, ended up more secure in himself and his feelings than he had been before.<br/>
<br/>
"Good," Leia said. "Honestly, I needed a break, too."<br/>
<br/>
"What's mine is yours," Luke said, gesturing to the balcony.<br/>
<br/>
"Very generous of you," Leia said. "I really shouldn't leave for long, but..." She turned away, towards the lake, and he could feel sadness begin to well up in her. The feeling was quiet, familiar, something that had been there for as long as he'd known her, something that her joy had only hidden, not banished. "Tonight is supposed to be about the future, but I keep catching myself thinking that my mother would love the hors d'oeuvres, and my father should be on the dance floor, and…"<br/>
<br/>
Luke moved closer and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him, and he felt rather than heard her heavy sigh, the broad smile of earlier faded away to nothing. "I don't think the two are mutually exclusive," he offered. "You can remember the past and look forward to the future at the same time. I think...I think we have a lot to look forward to, in spite of everything else." He couldn't help instinctive anxiety from fluttering in his chest at the thought.<br/>
<br/>
And of course Leia noticed, as slight as the reaction might have been. "That goes for you, too," she murmured, still snuggled into his side.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah."<br/>
<br/>
"It does," she said, pulling away slightly to look him in the face. "I know what you're worried about, but you know there's no competition. My love for Han doesn't mean any more or less than my love for you, and he'd say the same thing if you asked. We're not leaving you behind, Luke."<br/>
<br/>
"I know," he said. "I do know that, really, it's just...hard to remember sometimes."<br/>
<br/>
"Tell me when it is and I'll help you remember," Leia said firmly, and he laughed.<br/>
<br/>
"I'll do that."<br/>
<br/>
"Good." She nestled back into his side. The momentary grief and anxiety were subsiding, leaving them relaxed and happy, if not as deliriously joyful as they had been before.<br/>
<br/>
They stood like that for a few minutes in the cool evening air before Leia sighed and said, "I should get back." She untangled herself from him and straightened her dress, touching her hair to make sure it was still in order. "The evening's not over yet."<br/>
<br/>
"If we had drinks I'd propose a toast," Luke said, "but..." He spread his empty hands in a shrug.<br/>
<br/>
"We don't need props," Leia said, raising one hand as if brandishing a glass. "To our future," she said. "To you, and me, and whomever else we want to share it with."<br/>
<br/>
"Our future," Luke repeated, playing along and clinking his invisible glass against hers. "I like the sound of that."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>That's a wrap for my AroWriMo pieces this month; feel free to come say hi on <a href="https://moonbittern.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a>!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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